Fairfield father of 10 accused of child abuse: 'I'm the Indiana Jones of spirituality'

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FAIRFIELD, Calif. (KTVU/BCN) - A Fairfield father of 10, who is accused of torturing his children, spoke out from the Solano County jail on Tuesday. Denying all allegations, Jonathan Allen claimed he's a peaceful man who is the "Indiana Jones of spirituality."

In an emotional and sometimes rambling interview, Allen said the allegations that he sadistically tortured his children were false and he believes the children were "manipulated" by "brainwashed" police.

He added that he is a follower of Kabbalah, which stems from Jewish mysticism.

"I love my children with all my heart," Allen said through tears, dressed in striped jailhouse-issued clothing. "I am not 100 percent perfect. No one is perfect. But I am not an animal. I am not a torturer and am not a monster."

Allen was charged with seven counts of torture and nine counts of felony child abuse, by the Solano County District Attorney's Office on Monday. On Wednesday, nine felony charges of child abuse will be added to a complaint against Allen's wife, Ina Rogers, 30, who was arrested for child neglect, according to Solano County prosecutors.

Rogers was charged on April 3 with child neglect. She posted $10,000 bond on April 9 and was released.

Investigators believe nine of the 10 children were abused. In interviews, the children described incidents of intentional abuse resulting in puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a BB gun or pellet gun.

Allen said his children had no marks of abuse when they were taken by Solano County Child Welfare Services on March 31. The children have since moved in with family members.

That's when Allen believes the children were manipulated into telling investigators stories about abuse. "It wasn’t until family issues, personal family issues, family vendettas come up that accusations like this from other family members take place," he said.

Allen and Rogers, are also accused of providing unsafe living conditions for their children. Officers found spoiled food, as well as animal and human feces on the floor of the family's home. There was so much debris that some areas of the home were unaccessible, according to Fairfield Police.

Allen said the bathroom floor was covered in feces from his German Shepherd puppy. He said he put the puppy in one of the home's two bathrooms and the dog "destroyed it."

"It was a functioning household everyone helped everyone," Allen said. "We were trying to give them the best life we could. We never felt we were doing them wrong."

But authorities say there has been a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse of the children. Allen's bail is set at more than$5 million. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 24.